Living the RV lifestyle

Joseph Smyth worked his last months before retiring in September, he kept telling friends he couldn’t wait to hit the road and travel the country.

By Lora E. IdeCorrespondent

As former Rainbow Springs State Park manager Joseph Smyth worked his last months before retiring in September, he kept telling friends he couldn’t wait to hit the road and travel the country.

Three retirees with recreational vehicles at the Ocala North RV Park say they did just that and have found it to be an exciting, enjoyable way to spend their retirement years.

James and Linda Stahl began visiting Florida five years ago, with no plans to travel permanently.

“We didn’t plan this at all. We just drove south from our home in Michigan, wanting to travel for a while, and we ended up here. That first year we were here four months, the next year we were here six months, and then it was nine months. So my husband and I asked ourselves, ‘What are we keeping the house for?’ ” Linda Stahl said.

Michigan had high unemployment, cities struggling and many young people, including the Stahls’ two sons, fleeing the area for places with jobs back then, she added.

The Stahls decided to give up their home and rent two campsites at the park, one for a fifth-wheel parked permanently and another to accommodate a vehicle for excursions like a trip to Rainbow Springs State Park for a few days.

The park is wooded, with well-maintained grounds, near Gainesville and Ocala, and close to the historic towns of McIntosh and Micanopy. And, there are plenty of shops, malls, restaurants and Silver Springs State Park nearby, Linda Stahl said.

It’s a great way of life, but not a lifestyle that suits everyone, said Marilyn Richmond, just down the winding road from the Stahls. She has lived at the RV park since 1999, and also is from Michigan. She and her husband used to breed horses, and still have some, so he lives in Michigan on the farm and visits her in Florida.

“I always tell him I think he likes the horses better than he likes me,” Richmond said with a laugh.

Richmond was stringing white twinkle lights around the edges of the awning in front of her mobile home, which park manager Marilou Johnson said was not unusual.

Residents get into the holiday spirit, Johnson said. They add personal touches to their RV sites, including bits of nostalgia from home, such as the picturesque Bad Axe, Mich., sign in front of the Stahls’ RV.

People in the park form close friendships and some visit during the weekly potluck suppers, which get fancier near the holidays, Johnson said.

“We have turkey for Thanksgiving and ham for Christmas dinner. We usually get about 25 or 30 people who are not traveling away to family, or having them here,” she said.

Even Johnson dreamed of hitting the road years ago. In the late 1990s, she and her husband purchased a travel trailer and moved into an RV park in Port Charlotte, near where she was working as a registered nurse. In 1996, she got a surprise offer from the park owners, who offered her a job managing the park.

“I took that job, and later, in 2000, we came up here for what was supposed to be a few months. And here I am 13 years later. I really like the lifestyle. It’s wonderful, and you meet so many people,” Johnson said.

As for Joseph Smyth and his wife, CieCie, they have driven out of the Dunnellon area, off to give traveling life on the road a try, said Friends of Rainbow Springs volunteer and past-president Linda Brown.

“Somebody told me they left. But I don’t know where they are now,” Brown said.